Yesterday, former President Bill “Bubba” Clinton went to North Korea on a very special mission. Many theorized Tuesday morning that Bubba wouldn’t fly off to that country without something big being planned and negotiated beforehand. Turns out, they were right. After a three-and-a-half hour “negotiation” (in what amounted to a series of photo ops and North Korean attempts at propaganda), Bubba got the two American journalists out of their “hard labor” jail sentence/detention through a pardon by Kim Jong Il. Back in March, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, correspondents for Al Gore’s Current TV, were caught crossing over the North Korean border, and in June, were sentenced to 12 years hard labor. Their release became one of the many terse subjects in back-door negotiations between North Korea and America, and I’m personally surprised that it took so little to get these women out. Sources are claiming that the talks were “exhaustive”, but Bubba left North Korea within hours, with Laura and Euna in tow:

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were headed to Los Angeles from North Korea. For their families, their arrival couldn’t come soon enough.

“We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms,” the relatives of the American journalists say in a statement.

Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, who work for former Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV, were released from custody Tuesday – pardoned, the North Korean media said, the same day that former President Bill Clinton met with them and with the country’s leader Kim Jong II.

“The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are overjoyed by the news of their pardon,” says the statement. “We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home. We must also thank all the people who have supported our families through this ordeal, it has meant the world to us.”

Gore, who had remained quiet during the ordeal, said on his Twitter page, “We are overjoyed by Laura and Euna’s safe return.” The families also thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had engaged in diplomatic efforts.

In an email to the journalists’ colleagues, Current TV co-founder Joel Hyatt called the pair “extraordinary women who have shown remarkable courage and initiative” and said their ordeal will not have been in vain.

“To Laura and Euna, we promise this: Your courage and passion will be honored by Current’s continued commitment to telling the stories that no one else will tell,” Hyatt wrote. “We owe you no less. Celebrate!”

[From People]

Well, I’m glad that the women were released, I’m sure their families are overjoyed. I’m also impressed with Bubba’s skill in either/both the negotiations and the staging of the North Korean visit. Officially, Bubba was acting alone, “after the women’s families asked him to travel to the communist country and seek their release, a senior administration official said Tuesday.” But wink, wink, nod, of course Bubba went with the express permission of his wife, the secretary of state, and the current president. CNN is even reporting that Bubba offered an apology to Kim Jong Il, but the apology was not on behalf of America, or the current administration. Hopefully, this incident will help further negotiations about larger subjects, like nuclear war.

Slumdog Millionaire child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his family have finally been moved into a new apartment! This comes after months of promises from everyone involved in the film and the Jai Ho Trust that was set up to protect the children. It also comes after both Azharuddin and Rubina Ali’s slum homes were destroyed by the Indian government. Although Rubina and her family have not been moved into a new apartment yet, one of Jai Ho trustees assured the media that finding her family an apartment was at the top of their list. Personally, I think director Danny Boyle’s visit to Mumbai two weeks ago had a lot to do with it – I think he must have come in and busted some heads, making sure that the kids got new homes quickly.

The makers of the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire” have bought a new home for one of the two child stars discovered in Mumbai’s slums.

The purchase of a 250-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment for the family of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, was completed Monday, said Nirja Mattoo, who helps oversee a trust set up by the filmmakers to help Azharuddin and his 9-year-old co-star Rubina Ali.

“They can move in,” Mattoo told The Associated Press Wednesday, adding that the trust plans to deliver the keys Thursday.

Both children lost their homes last month when authorities demolished parts of their slum.

Mattoo said the trust is actively looking for a new home for Rubina.

Ownership of the first apartment, which cost about 2.5 million rupees ($50,000) will be transferred from the trust to Azharuddin when he turns 18, provided he completes school, Mattoo said.

“He has to complete an education. We are very clear about that,” she said. She declined to say what would happen to the property if he does not finish school.

The apartment is located in Santa Cruz West, a suburb of Mumbai just north of the slum where the two children now live.

The government has promised to give both of them new apartments, but the families have resisted, saying the government flats are too far away from their neighbors and school.

[From The Associated Press]

A one-bedroom apartment? Granted, it’s better than nothing. And better than a now-destroyed slum shack. But perhaps a two-bedroom apartment? I’m not trying to be nit-picky, I swear. This a family of four – one bedroom for the parents, one bedroom for Azharuddin Mohammed and his brother Irfan.

Also – I love that there’s an area in Mumbai known as “Santa Cruz West”. What, was the suburb originally developed for the San Fernando valley? And they just said, “Screw it, let’s take this community development project to Mumbai – but keep the name!”

Christina Applegate is set to share some fabulous news this morning. According to E!, Applegate filmed an interview with Robin Roberts on Monday morning in which she says that she is now completely free of cancer – a true testament to the importance of early detection.

Christina Applegate has great news. “They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer,” the Samantha Who? star says in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday on Good Morning America. The 36-year-old actress, whose mom also battled—and survived—the disease, revealed earlier this month that she had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Applegate, said that she has been getting regular mammograms since she turned 30. A second MRI, part of the follow-up from a biopsy she had last year, revealed the cancer. “I was so mad and I—I just remember I was—I was just shaking,” she told GMA cohost Robin Roberts, herself a breast-cancer survivor, on Monday. “And then also immediately, I had to go into…’take-care-of-business mode,’ which was…I asked them, ‘What do I do now? What—what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I get an oncologist? What do I do?’”

Apparently she did what was right for her, which included penciling in all the help she needed and switching to a macrobiotic diet. “I’m clear,” Applegate said. “Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.”

[From E! News]

E! doesn’t say if Applegate discusses what course of treatment she chose. I’m also curious when she found out she had cancer, and if she waited a bit to get a clearer prognosis before releasing a statement. No matter what this sounds like great news, and really serves as a reminder about the importance of diligent checkups from an early age.

Here’s Christina at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January. Images thanks to PR Photos.